Classroom Reflection

It is important for my students to understand and value learning goals in the classroom. At the start of every chapter students will be supplied an outline of what they are going to encounter in the upcoming weeks.

My time spent in the Clinical setting, so far, has been extremely inciteful as to how to become a better educator in a classroom setting. Through the data I collected I was able to connect Borich’s Seven Variables of learning to the students. By being in the clinical setting for nearly two months, I have been exposed to new ways of thinking when it comes to structuring a classroom and instructing a classroom. Within this reflection you will find out how I would better plan an effective lesson for the pupils in my future classroom. You will also discover what I will do about certain issues in the classroom and how I will address/fix them.

This learning experience supported the science content area physics. It provided the children with opportunity to collaborate as a group to work together to problem-solve. My focus for this lab was to build and construct ramps and pathways in the outside play yard. I implemented technology by letting the children watch a YouTube video about constructing ramps and pathways to generate new knowledge about the activity. They used marbles to travel down the ramps, while recycled bottles and PVC piping were used to make bridges and underpasses. I planned this lesson to connect to some of the children’s prior knowledge about using this type of track. When the children began using the tracks in the outside play yard they chose to put their ramps off landscaping rocks. This gave them the ability to secure the ramp at the top as well as the ability to build bridges and underpasses on the ground. This activity immediately ignited their language such as, “let me try this, I have an idea, what about this, how about if we do this” which demonstrated that the children were engaged in the inquiry process. The learning standards this activity supported was; 3.2 PK.B.1 Explore and describe the motion of toys and objects. AL.1 PK.A Explore and ask questions to seek meaningful information about a growing range of topics, ideas, and tasks.

Scenario: I’m teaching a third-grade class of 20 total students. The class consists of the following population:

The sixth section was curriculum compacting. This allows students that already understand the material to move on to harder concepts at their own pace. I do this in my classroom using IXL. I think this how is progressive pockets can come in handy, but again, I do not think it should be a file box at the front of the room, but rather assignments from the teacher directly to the student to advance his learning.

The changes that I would have made during this unit would include not always assessing with worksheets and varying my instruction. I would have still used some of the worksheets that came with the book, but not after each lesson like I did. I would have liked to use various instructional strategies that would have got the students up and moving during the lesson and not just having to sit there for a majority of them. My student’s performance told me that I taught the material very well and in a way that they could understand. I say this because all of the students improved by at least 15 percent from their pre-test. Yes, my students achieved the level of growth that I expected them to after looking at the pre-test and then looking at their post-test after the unit. The explanation for this is take the students knew what was expected on them each day in class regardless of how the lesson was being taught. When I began teaching and the students were sitting up front on the floor I set expectations for them. If they didn’t follow these expectations I would ask them to move a magnet. In the beginning I would remind the students of the expectations and then after a while I would just say remember the expectations. By setting these right away it showed the student what I expected and left no room to say that they didn’t know what I expected of them. My strengths were presenting the material at a level that the students could understand and being able to be flexible with my

While not every teacher teaches the exact same, there does exist a few, fairly common similarities between those I was able to sit in on. Of these commonalities, there were positives and negatives. Typically, one of the first things I noticed during observations of a “good” class was that from the moment students entered the room they knew what to do. Out of the ten observed classes, eight used some form of bell-ringer that was displayed before and during the ringing of the first bell. Yet, of these eight, only four classes successfully engaged in the bell-ringer. Of these three, there was only one that required the teacher’s full input, which came in the form of reading the question. Even still, the four classes that successfully started off the classroom’s time with learning did so out of routine. The two classes that did not use bell-ringers while I was observing did so voluntarily. One was because the students were to be engaged in a Science project within the class, and the other was because they were expecting to leave to take student yearbook pictures. Excluding the Science outlier, classes that did not start off with a bell-ringer or some form of question/activity at the bell tended not to transition as smoothly into lecture or the next planned activity.

Question 1. How do you make work more meaningful to your students? What motivators are you currently using with your students? Examine the climate in your classroom. What would you change to make it better?

On December 5, 2017, I spent my fifth session with class 3-213. As a prospective student teacher, this day provided me with a plethora of information regarding questioning. For my first few weeks of observation, I focused on the differing forms of instructional planning, assessment, and interdisciplinary instruction. However, this week I listened carefully to the types of questions the teacher asked the students. Mrs. Diaz is truly a remarkable teacher, who carefully plans her questions to execute informal assessments. She uses these questions to measure student performance, while simultaneously stimulating collaborative and encouragement in the classroom. Based on this idea, Mrs. Diaz continuously asks questions throughout the duration

On November 11, 2017 I attended the Victoria Crossroads Council for Math Educators from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This event is hosted twice a year, once during the Fall semester and once during the Spring semester. The conference is hosted by Dr. Barba Patton and Dr. Teresa LeSage Clements. Students in the education program at UHV in Victoria and Katy, come together to present and teach lessons on Science and Math. There is a morning keynote speaker, a lunch speaker, and a closing ceremony speaker the speakers are individuals involved in the field of education that present on topics regarding education.

On September 25, 2017, I was unable to participate in class due to an infection. However, I was able to observe and evaluate the others in class. This opportunity allowed myself to view the students’ body alignment, challenges, and the ability of picking up phrases. Not only did I observe the students, but I tried to imagine myself in the space and wonder what would have been difficult for me.

Dr. Karen Lea (2016) stated that aggressive behavior has been shown to grow from overly severe and punitive parenting, association with highly aggressive peers, and heavy viewing of television and film violence. Several of my students have clearly experienced such environmental influences which have led to the development of attention seeking behaviors, violent behaviors, poor attitudes towards school and learning, truancy, and below average academic progress. My students have also faced poverty, close family ties to gang activity, death or incarceration of a parent, lack of parental supervision, abuse, hunger, online bullying, inconsistent friendships, and rape.

My experience was informational. I was able to see how my students are inside the classroom environment with my teacher how they are in art. I was also able to observe another classroom and see how they differ from my class. All of these are completely different spaces where the children act differently. Comparing these different environments provided a unique insight into how these children act differently depending on who is around. Having been with these children a lot now, I have the ability to interact with them and get to know them individually. This helps in my classroom assessments because I am able to differentiate between how children normally behave and what the normal classroom routine is like.

When I evaluate my school year, many things come to mind. I think about friends. I think about the highs and lows.I also think about how I have grown.My 7th grade year at CMS was full of concepts learned, memorable experiences, and personal growth.

The teacher that I have selected for my interview, is one that I have previously used for an assignment in this class. Mrs. Shore teaches freshman Biology, and is a coworker of mine at the ninth grade academy in which I am employed. Mrs. Shore’s classroom management style is one that is very similar to what I had discussed in my reports over the length of this class. She uses a fun, energetic environment, while at the same time clearly depicting expectations about student behavior. She explained to me that she believes talking with students and gaining an understanding about what type of environment works best for them, and then molding numerous styles together. When discussing discipline issues, she notified me that her most difficult challenge is deciding when to punish a student. Mrs. Shore explained that it is vital to be invested in students and know when grace needs to be given, and when discipline actions need to be taken because students can be adversely affected by their home lives and many other factors. She continued to explain that multiple factors should be taken into account before deciding if a student truly deserves to be punished. Another thing that I enjoy about Mrs. Shore is her classroom environment. When walking into Mrs. Shores classroom students are not greeted with desk, but rather a variety of table styles and around the tables students will find large rolling desk chairs. The setup of Mrs. Shores class is what stood out to me the most. Her tables and chairs provide a sense of comfort while also allowing students to learn in an environment different from the traditional school setting. Mrs. Shore explained that she tries to provide a sense of safety and fun to her students.